Doctor issues stark warning after shocking rise in STI cases following New Years celebrations

The countdown to the new year is almost over and with it comes one final night of celebration to see out 2024.

While many people will be seeing in the new year with fireworks, or at least watching a display on their TV, some folks will be ushering in 2025 with an altogether different kind of bang.

While Christmas might see you getting smooched under the mistletoe, the New Year's tradition that requires you to pucker up is to kiss once the countdown reaches zero so you begin another rotation of the sun locking lips with someone.

We're almost at the end of the year, and that means there'll be a lot of parties going on (Getty Stock Image)

It might be your long term partner, the desperate date you brought along so you wouldn't be alone or just someone you randomly struck up a spark with at a party that night.

However, if you're planning on doing more than kissing then you'd do well to heed the warning from Dr Babak Ashrafi about the rising risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) at this time of year.

The doctor explained to Superdrug Online Doctor that if there was any point in the calendar when people most had to worry about getting a disease on their dingle it was now.

He said that in the wake of the last New Year there had been a 42 percent rise in STI testing kits being ordered, a sign that Brits were worrying about the state of their privates.

"My bits feel like they're burning, should I be worried?" (Getty Stock Photo)

"Christmas and New Year is a season of joy, but it's also a time when STI rates see a noticeable rise in the UK," the doc warned.

"Why does this happen? It’s a mix of festive fun, increased social interactions, and a few seasonal behaviours that lead to risky choices."

This is the time of year when there are lots of parties and gatherings, whether those be the office Christmas party, a meeting of friends or deciding that for New Year you simply must do something.

There are plenty of opportunities for you to find a new person to do the horizontal bop with, and apparently December is a decidedly sexy month for Brits as there's all sorts of festive fornication going on.

There'll be banging all across the nation to usher in the new year. Make sure yours doesn't end up with a trip to the doctors. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, there's lots of alcohol to lubricate the social interaction at these parties which can lead to people doing all sorts of risky things like forgetting to use protection.

You might end up getting an STI without realising it and then end up spreading it around to someone else.

We are at the height of 'cuffing season', after all, as people try and find someone for a short term relationship in the colder months.

If you're in the mood to usher in 2025 with a bang then you might at least want to use Superdrug's STI Risk Tracker so you at least know what sort of situation you're heading into.